Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Wells Fargo & Company Analyst Says

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $650.00 to $700.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the software giant’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 38.94% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. China Renaissance decreased their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $630.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research report on Monday, July 6th. DZ Bank reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Microsoft in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. New Street Research lowered their price target on Microsoft from $675.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Forty-two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Microsoft presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $560.27.

Microsoft Stock Performance

Shares of Microsoft stock opened at $503.81 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $407.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $407.37. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Microsoft has a 52 week low of $349.20 and a 52 week high of $553.72.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The software giant reported $4.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.24 by $0.50. The business had revenue of $90.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $87.62 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 31.98% and a net margin of 40.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Microsoft will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Microsoft news, EVP Takeshi Numoto sold 4,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.48, for a total value of $2,388,068.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 42,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,188,276.96. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 1,262 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.34, for a total value of $519,111.08. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 46,003 shares in the company, valued at $18,922,874.02. The trade was a 2.67% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,572 shares of company stock valued at $17,775,330. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 51.3% in the 2nd quarter. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC now owns 59 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Shepherd Kaplan Krochuk LLC now owns 431 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $223,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Better Money Decisions LLC now owns 3,498 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,740,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Microsoft by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Endowment Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,251 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Pollock Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Microsoft by 0.8% in the third quarter. Pollock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $1,453,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Microsoft

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Microsoft could unveil its next-generation Maia 300 AI chip as early as September continue to support the stock. The chip could reduce Microsoft’s reliance on Nvidia processors, lower infrastructure costs and strengthen its Azure offering; production of more than 300,000 units is reportedly being planned for 2027. Microsoft plans to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall
• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein maintained an Outperform rating and raised its Microsoft price target to $660, arguing that the company is taking a measured approach to AI data-center expansion. Flexible facilities, staggered commitments and continued Azure demand may help contain the risk of overbuilding. Bernstein raises Microsoft target price to $660
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains broadly constructive. Articles cite Microsoft’s Azure growth, large backlog, AI monetization potential and reasonable valuation, while a separate report said hedge funds favor MSFT over Meta. Analysts collectively assign the shares an average “Moderate Buy” rating. Microsoft receives a Moderate Buy analyst rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent institutional activity was mixed: Davis Selected Advisers and Yacktman Asset Management increased their positions, while Generation Investment Management, Vulcan Value Partners and Crake Asset Management reduced holdings. These trades may reflect portfolio management rather than a broad change in Microsoft’s fundamentals.
• Negative Sentiment: Microsoft’s aggressive AI data-center buildout remains a key investor concern. Rising capital expenditures could weigh on margins, free cash flow and returns if AI demand slows, despite management’s claims of disciplined spending. Microsoft’s AI data-center spending could pressure returns
• Negative Sentiment: Other risks include reports that AI tools are identifying Windows vulnerabilities faster than Microsoft can fix them, scrutiny over AI-agent security breaches and multiple law-firm notices concerning a securities class-action lawsuit. These developments could increase regulatory, litigation and reputational risk. AI identifies Windows flaws faster than Microsoft can fix them

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).